"Let's just assume we all would declare that we will not manage it — then what?" she asked host Anne Will in a primetime, one-on-one TV interview on Wednesday night, adding: "Those people who are helping are an example for the many people willing to manage this situation together with me."

The interview was apparently a reaction to the friendly and not-so-friendly fire the German Chancellor finds herself facing, being criticized by both her political opponents and by members of her own party. During the last couple of weeks, Merkel has repeatedly been accused of mismanaging the crisis; recent polls have shown her popularity decreasing.

Last week, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière — known as a longtime confidante of the chancellor — said in a TV interview that "things went out of control when the decision was made that people from Hungary were allowed into Germany." This was widely viewed as criticism of Merkel's decision last month to announce that Germany would let in hundreds of thousands of refugees who had amassed on the Hungarian border.

On Tuesday night, it was made public that the overall responsibility in coordinating the government's response to the refugee crisis was being shifted from the Interior Ministry to Merkel's chancellery, with Peter Altmaier, Merkel’s chief of staff, named to head the newly created staff unit.

This, however, was not meant to demonstrate a lack of confidence in de Maizière, Merkel stressed on TV Wednesday night. "I need him more urgently than ever."

Besides the criticism from her own party, Merkel is also under pressure from her Bavarian Conservative allies, whose leader, Horst Seehofer, said Wednesday he wanted to discuss “emergency measures,” according to Süddeutsche Zeitung. Last month, Seehofer infuriated Merkel by inviting Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orbán to a party gathering.

When Merkel was asked if she was annoyed by Seehofer implying she wasn't up to handling the refugee crisis, she shrugged it off. "There's no such category as 'annoying' — we're a free country," she said. "It's just that my task is a different one than Horst Seehofer's. I actually have to work out this problem."

"I have a plan," she said when asked about what should be done to solve the crisis, adding "but this doesn't only depend on me."

In the interview, she repeated her objection to the idea of an "Aufnahmestop," a ban on immigration, as it had been suggested by some of her critics. "We could observe in Hungary what happens when one builds a fence," she said, "People will find another way."

Instead, she called for more solidarity within Europe."The first thing I need to achieve is that Europe lives up to its responsibility, and not just four countries," Merkel said, criticizing thee other European countries unwilling to take in refugees.

At the same time, she stressed the importance of improving the situation in the crisis-shaken home countries of the refugees, as well as as in the refugee camps in neighboring countries. This effort will also include talks with Turkey, Merkel said.